I am quite fascinated with the use of biblical typography in Mary Rowlandson’s “A Narrative of the Captivity and Restoration of Mrs. Rowlandson.” According to Rowlandson, God’s will is what kept her alive during such a difficult and challenging time; “yet the Lord by his Almighty power preserved a number of us from dying” (311), and God’s will restored Rowlandson after the captivity.
Rowlandson’s narrative is broken up into ‘removes’ and in each of these ‘removes,’ we are shown the trials that Rowlandson had to overcome. Each ‘remove’ provides us with a better understanding and insight of Mary Rowlandson’s captivity.
In the second remove, Rowlandson is forced to travel with the Indians who have captured her, ‘into the vast and desolate wilderness;’ a place both unfamiliar and terrifying to Mrs. Rowlandson. During her travel, Rowlandson attributes her high spirits to that of God’s power and strength. “God was with me in a wonderful manner, carrying me along, and bearing my spirit, that it did not quite fall” (312). According to Rowlandson, God’s will was giving her strength enough to endure; to not give up, but to keep going despite all her fears and sadness. “The Lord renewed my strength still and carried me along, that I might see more of his power” (312).
Rowlandson’s intense faith in God keeps her alive. She is able to justify each action as a will of God. I believe, in doing this, Mary Rowlandson is better able to cope with her situation and to understand what happens to her during her captivity. For example, Rowlandson was overcome, at the beginning of her captivity, with the overwhelmingly unappetizing food that was available for consumption; “it was very hard to get down their filthy trash” (317). But according to Rowlandson, her faith is God’s will provided her the strength to eat and actually enjoy those once unappetizing meals; “and I could starve and die before I eat such things, yet they were sweet and savory to my taste” (317).
In the end, Rowlandson’s faith, through all her hardships and challenges, is what kept her alive and able to be restored. To Rowlandson, God’s will gave her the strength to keep going when times became almost unbearable and the appetite to eat the ‘filthy trash’ when she would have rather starved, all of this enabled her to return home. For a lot of people, having something to believe in is very important. Especially for Mary Rowlandson, for in her case, such a strong belief is what kept her alive.
Interesting blog post but wanted to offer a brief clarification: Rowlandson’s narrative doesn’t use biblical typography, it uses typological readings (big difference between typography and typology), which is not just about God’s faith but is a strategy in which an author uses biblical stories and biblical allusions to explain her own experiences. That is, a text that uses typological readings actually “reads” the events of the “real” world (that is the events that happen to its protagonist) as the biblical stories. See for example the moment in Rowlandson’s narrative when she alludes to the biblical story of Lot’s wife.
I enjoyed your post and agree that Rowlandson’s faith is the main driving force in her survival. However, I would not say that God’s strength, per say, was what caused her to stomach the unappetizing meals. Rather, she came to terms with her situation and the idea that God had planned this for her and her duty is to ride it out.
Thank you! I like that interpretation of the reading! Very interesting.
Rowlandson finds a great deal of comfort in the Grace of God. It’s a major lens which she sees her surroundings, which is clear from the typological language she uses. Her belief supports itself also because the lessons and analogies are ingrained in her mind so that events for her follow a narrative she’s already familiar with in the Bible. and since it’s not as completely new in that sense it’s easier for her to deal with. Even if a particular situation had produced a different result, she might just as well feel a similar connection or “plan” involved in the outcome
I like the subject matter of this post. I have always been fascinated by people who are driven by such extreme faith as Mary. It is very interesting that Mary’s faith in a higher being is the reason why she believes she is still alive.
Mr. Siperstein, thank you for the clarification! I was a tad confused on the difference between the two.
Hey there! This is my first comment here so I just wanted to give a quick shout out and say I genuinely enjoy reading your posts. Can you suggest any other blogs/websites/forums that deal with the same subjects? Many thanks!
You might want to check out some of the blog links in the blog roll for some other places to learn about literature and the environment. Thanks for your comment.